


Just One Look

by Tea_For_One_Please



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, One Shot, POV Alternating, Some Similarities With Canon, there's none of the time travel, well sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: Two boys, united from their first look, through all of life's challenges.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	Just One Look

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm back writing Harry Potter fic for the first time in like two years (lmao), probably not making a habit of it, but felt inspired.
> 
> So I kept some areas of the Cursed Child canon? But I didn't like most of it, so I got rid of what I didn't like. I've sort of kept the struggle in Albus / Harry's relationship, but it's implied that it's more from the point of view that Albus can't connect with him, rather than Harry being a terrible father (as the play suggests). Anyway, you'll see. Enjoy!

Just one look is all it takes: a smile shared in a train carriage compartment. In just one look, Albus knows he’s met the friend he always needed. The friend he never quite found in his cousins, as special as they were to him, nor the Muggles at the primary school where his parents sent all three of them.

Just one look it all it takes Scorpius, too: the soft freckled face that he immediately recognises as _Albus Potter_ , of all people, leans in and asks to share the compartment, accompanied by a bushy-haired girl who’s friendly, but clearly a little more cautious. These two could be his friends – the first of his own age he’s ever had.

* * *

Scorpius’ face changes over the years, Albus notices. Not much at first – when they reconvene at King’s Cross for their second year, the only difference is that Scorpius is now two inches taller than him, to his chagrin. Otherwise, he’s still the earnest, slightly awkward boy he met the previous year, and he smiles at the familiar emotions.

His eyes have grown darker, Scorpius thinks as he bounds across the platform to greet Albus. Not physically: they’re still the bright, clear green they were at the start of the summer, but they look simultaneously sadder and fiercer – as if he’s bracing himself for the year to come. Which, Scorpius thinks, he probably is.

* * *

Scorpius has grown up a lot this summer, Albus remarks. His features less soft, his jawline and signature Malfoy chin more defined, set firm in his determination not to cry. In the loss of his mother, at the tender age of thirteen, he’s borne the burden no child should ever have to bear, and he looks older. Albus aches for their earlier school days, before life started getting harder for them both.

Albus looks older, Scorpius thinks miserably, as if the universe is smacking him in the face with the reminder that his carefree childhood is over. His hair has been stubbornly hacked shorter at the sides, and his cheeks look thinner. He hugs his mother, but shifts uncomfortably as his father rests his hand on his shoulder. Scorpius wants to tell him to settle their differences while he still can, but holds it back.

* * *

Time keeps passing, and Scorpius is still taller than him. Still kinder than him. Still better-looking than him, Albus thinks as he watches his friend hug his father across Platform 9¾ a short distance away. Not that he’s looking or anything. He doesn’t have a crush on Scorpius. He just likes his company, finds him attractive and would really like to hold his hand and kiss him. That’s just a friendly thing to do, he thinks doubtfully as Scorpius approaches him and wraps his arms tightly around him.

Scorpius will never grow tired of the way Albus’ normally scowling face clears when he sees him. He has such a pretty smile, and he’s actually really funny. This is a fact few people other than him, Rose and Lily know, as he spends most of the time glaring at the world. Scorpius just wishes that he would sort out his issues with his dad which plague him so constantly so that he could smile more often. The world always seems a little better when Albus smiles.

* * *

Albus can’t help feeling a little foolish as Scorpius crosses the station platform and slips his hand into his own, but only because it took him so long to pluck up the courage to be honest with Scorpius. He could have spent so much more time looking into Scorpius’ radiant face, their fingers intertwined and their lips pressed together. They can do these things now though, he thinks, a smile twisting onto his face as Scorpius kisses him. He doesn’t dare look at his father, in case he sees him look away. He couldn’t bear it.

As he greets Albus, Scorpius can’t help noticing the tension between the Potters. He sees the sad smile on Albus’ father’s face as he takes Albus’ hand, close enough to count the still-visible freckles that are scattered over his sharp cheekbones. He recognises the look of a parent who’s trying – he just wishes his boyfriend would. In spite of his thoughts, he grins at Albus and leans in to kiss him. People say Albus can be self-absorbed at times, which may be true – but Scorpius knows him best, and he knows Albus loves him.

* * *

Scorpius has been abroad this summer, and Albus has missed him. They collide halfway across the platform and Albus spins his boyfriend around, laughing, as he hugs him, tilting his chin up to kiss Scorpius for the first time in months. Their respective families draw nearer to them, and polite, stilted conversation takes place. Albus takes no notice, instead choosing to take in Scorpius’ appearance, his face slightly tanned and hair bleached almost white by the sun. He’s somehow even more beautiful than before, and god, Albus loves him.

Scorpius ignores the awkward handshakes between their fathers and squeezes Albus’ hand, delirious with joy. His boyfriend’s hair has grown out a little, looking fluffier on top (like it did when he was younger), and there’s a restored brightness in his clear green eyes. Scorpius wonders if it has anything to do with the genuine hug he gives his father upon their departure. There’s some very faint stubble where the base of his jaw has been inexpertly shaved, and Scorpius smiles affectionately as he thinks about how much he loves him.

* * *

As he fiddles with the _Head Boy_ badge pinned to the front of his robes, there’s an anxious twitch in Scorpius’ wide eyes which Albus hasn’t seen since the first time he peered into the train compartment. It’s hardly surprising – it’s their final year, after all, with career meetings, formals and N.E.W.T.s on the horizon. Yet Albus doesn’t feel nervous at all as he looks at Scorpius, his grey eyes so full of hurt and pain, yet brimming with life and hope. They have each other, and that’s enough. Albus feels a swell of affection for Scorpius as he chats with his parents and siblings, and takes advantage of the distraction to have a hushed word with Scorpius’ father.

Scorpius keeps sneaking glances at Albus; he’s changed slightly over the summer, and he can’t quite get over it. He’s lost the gaunt look that’s haunted him over the last few years, and his face and shoulders have broadened. He’s suddenly that much more attractive, and Scorpius is talking fast with Albus’ family to avoid blushing. He’s spent a bit of time with the Potters this summer, and he likes them. He thinks they rather like him, too. He hopes they do, anyway, he thinks as he notices Albus talking quietly to his dad. He wonders what they’re discussing so secretly.

* * *

They both look at each other with a smile as the crowd get to their feet. After nearly eight years of talking and supporting each other, they find that just one look is enough for them both to know they’re ready. Albus slips his hand into Scorpius’ as they wander down the aisle between the chairs, before stopping at the front and giving a sheepish grin to those assembled, as ready now to give themselves to each other as they were after just one look.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I'm strongest at dialogue-driven stories, so this was meant to be a bit of a challenge, by not including any.
> 
> Please leave a comment if you liked this fic, or else hit me up on Tumblr (@tea-for-one-please) with an ask / message!


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